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<\/a><\/p>\nPro-Palestinian demonstrators in Toronto hold signs protesting the war in Gaza, on Oct. 10, 2026. (Emma Paidra\/JTA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Separated by metal barricades and police officers, a much smaller group of counterprotesters waving Israeli and Iranian flags stood at the southern end of Sankofa Square, where the demonstrators gathered before the march to mark the third anniversary of the war in Gaza. <\/p>\n
Trailing behind a white Ford F-150 equipped with speakers, protesters at one point shouted, \u201cOverthrow the Epstein class,\u201d a slogan referring to disgraced Jewish financier Jeffrey Epstein to decry the global elite and call for the ultra-wealthy to be stripped of power. Tensions briefly flared when a man wearing a Turning Point Canada sweatshirt confronted a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. <\/p>\n
Otherwise, the protest was largely peaceful. Toronto police said that one individual was arrested at the demonstration after being recognized by officers as someone wanted in connection with an unrelated incident.<\/p>\n
The protest was part of a broader international wave of demonstrations, with the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs counting 17 protests in Canada planned for Saturday through Wednesday, including in Montreal and Ottawa.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators included Jews and Israelis who are highly critical of the prosecution of the war in Gaza and Zionism as a whole. \u201cI went to school in Haifa, and I saw how Palestinians are treated,\u201d said pro-Palestinian protester Shlomit, 65, who didn\u2019t provide a last name due to concerns for her safety. \u201cI grew up in a very Zionist family, but being in Israel actually changed my mind about things.\u201d <\/p>\n
Shlomit said she had mutual friends with Vivian Silver, a Canadian-Israeli peace activist who was murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, launching the Gaza war. She said she was emotionally impacted by Silver\u2019s death, and believes the kind of work like Silver\u2019s was critical to building peace between Israelis and Palestinians. <\/p>\n
\u201cI knew all these people who were connected to [Vivian]. She was a peace activist, and what happened to her was distressing to me,\u201d said Shlomit, who wore a pin labeled \u201cJews Against Occupation.\u201d <\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney mentioned Silver in a statement on Wednesday, the three-year anniversary of Oct. 7 itself. \u201cCanada unequivocally condemns Hamas, which must play no role in the future governance of a demilitarised Palestinian state,\u201d read Carney\u2019s statement. \u201cWe stand steadfastly with the Israeli people in their pursuit of a safe and secure Israel as part of a two-state solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement continued by commemorating the Canadian lives lost to the Hamas attack, mentioning Silver and eight others. \u201cWe remember them for the lives they lived and the people they loved \u2013 and we honour the families and friends who continue to mourn their loss. May their memory be a blessing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other demonstrators expressed solidarity with issues beyond the Middle East. Caelen Leizer-Romalis, 24, was attending the protest as part of the Revolutionary Communist Party. \u201cWe have an obligation as Canadians to stand up to imperialism,\u201d said Leizer-Romalis, who is Jewish. \u201cIn order to liberate the people of Palestine, we need to liberate the workers here as well.\u201d<\/p>\n